First impressions half-way through the harvest…
“Sheer pleasure”
Isabelle Sabon, Domaine de la Janasse
“This vintage is so good I’m going to have it tattooed!”
Thierry Usséglio, Domaine Pierre Usséglio
“Grapes such as you see in the movies”
Jean-Marie Royer, Domaine Jean Royer
“So far, everything that has been put in the vats is just beautiful”
Edouard Guerin, Maison Ogier
“True pleasure. An impeccable sanitary state.”
Françoise Roumieux, Vignobles Mayard
After a particularly dry, hot and windy summer, the harvesting of the 2016 vintage in the various areas of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation is unfolding in exceptional conditions.
All indicators are green to start the winemaking of this great vintage, thanks to a 48mm rainfall on 14 September that released the phenolic ripeness process in the most drought-sensitive areas. The mistral wind then picked up and blew the clouds away towards the Mediterranean, eliminated all risks of morning fog and brought the temperatures down –a factor that both winemakers and harvesters appreciated!
The selective sorting of grapes during harvest, made compulsory by the specifications of the AC, became unnecessary, so impeccable was the quality of the grapes being brought into the cellars. The producers deem the yield to be just under the 35hl/ha allowed in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape AC, with –it has to be noted- a homogeneous production of black Grenache.
The first juices are aromatic and well-balanced, with beautiful acidity and deep colours. The fermentations are unfolding smoothly and therefore the first post-fermentation vattings are starting in total peace of mind.
As you can see, the spirits are high and the weather is beautiful in the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where a few events along the year mark the 80th anniversary of the AOC (15 May 1936). A new era was then opening for the whole of the French vineyard thanks to the visionary genius of Baron le Roy and Joseph Capus.
